Built in the 1920s around the village and medieval castle of Nürburg in Germany, the Nordschleife circuit at Nurburgring is unlike any race track on earth. It is widely considered the toughest, most dangerous and most demanding purpose-built track in the world.
The 12.9 mile circuit is composed of 73 corners (many of them blind and all lined with unyielding Armco) mixed with massive elevation changes, bumps, jumps and compressions that wind their way up and down the forested Eifel valleys. F1 great Jackie Stewart described the track as “the ultimate driver challenge” and nicknamed it ‘The Green Hell.’
Naturally, given the track’s reputation, there are huge bragging rights to say that you are the fastest at this famous track, as that achievement demands driver skill and nerves, plus a very, very, very capable car. Many have tried, but only one person and car can currently claim to be the quickest.
The current production car record of 6 minutes 55 seconds was posted September 28, 2005 by Michael Vergers in a Radical SR8 in street legal trim and riding on Dunlop tires! Vergers lap time knocked a massive 20 seconds off the previous best time.
By way of comparison, during qualifying for the 1975 German Grand Prix, Niki Lauda posted the fastest ever F1 race lap at 6 minutes 58 seconds, and a Walter Röhrl-driven Porsche Carrera GT lapped in 7 minutes 32 seconds.
Here is the video of the incredible lap:
[Source: YouTube]
It would be great if we could see the late Jim Clark driving that same car. My guess is that it would look very different: much smoother and without all that nervous correcting, and probably a tad faster as well, not that this isn’t a sensational performance.